Interstate 10 Reopens After Deadly 5-Vehicle Accident
A man from Northern California is dead and several others are injured after a crash involving two big rigs and three cars on Interstate 10.
The California Highway Patrol confirms all eastbound lanes of the freeway reopened to traffic around 10:30 a.m. after the accident forced them to shut down the freeway at the Monroe Street exit and divert traffic to Jefferson and Indio Blvd.
The collision, which happened at 8 a.m., involved a tractor-trailer that jackknifed across the eastbound lanes, which caused a chain-reaction collision involving another big rig and three cars, according to the CHP.
“I don’t know whether he was trying to avoid another car … hit our rear and spun us around,” said Hank Robinett, a crash victim who skid off the road and down a dirt embankment.
Harry Griffith, 53, of Redwood City, was killed when his car was rear-ended by a big-rig, according to the Riverside County Coroner’s Office.
The driver of the jackknifed truck, 52-year-old Howard Sands, and another driver, 61-year-old Stephen Dehn, of Palm Springs were taken via helicopter to Desert Regional Medical Center with moderate to major injuries.
A dog belonging to one of the truck drivers was rescued by deputies on the scene, and was sent to the Animal Campus in Thousand Palms. See story.
